Systems and methods herein generally relate to printing systems and, more particularly, to automation of the imposition of print job parameter selection processes related to rendering imposed documents.
In modern desktop printing systems, a document can be created or received in electronic form on a device such as a personal computer, a personal digital assistant, or other suitable device. Parameters of print jobs (such as for finishing, imposition, color management) can be set at the print queue, print job, page description language (PDL) creation, exception page creation, line printer remote (LPR), and job ticket level. Imposition settings are job settings that cause page images to be placed on print media at specific locations, orientations, and scalings. For example, a user can format the document, adjust the layout of the document, change fonts, change font sizes, etc. These settings are reconciled before a job is submitted for print. Thereafter, the document can be printed on a printer to produce a hardcopy of the document. The hardcopy of the document can further be bound or otherwise subjected to processing to result in a finished product.
Imposition is one of the fundamental steps in the prepress printing process. It consists in the arrangement of the printed product's pages on the printer's sheet, in order to print faster, simplify binding, and reduce paper waste. In particular, it allows the printer to set up such documents as business cards, magazines, flyers, postcards, and brochures. Print operators will print books using large sheets of paper that will be folded later. This allows for faster printing, simplified binding, and lower production costs. Imposition is the process of arranging the pages correctly prior to printing so that they fold in the correct order. To someone unfamiliar with the imposition process, the pages may seem to be arranged randomly; but after printing, the paper is folded, bound, and trimmed. If correctly imposed, the pages all appear in the correct orientation and readable sequence.
Programming of the job parameters associated with document imposition remains one of the more complicated aspects of job programming printing control systems. This complexity impacts the users' ability to properly program imposition parameters and their ability to include imposition as part of a more automated workflow. Correct imposition minimizes printing time by maximizing the number of pages per impression, reducing cost of press time and materials.
Whenever there is a change in web stock width and length on a continuous feed infinite roll paper, there is a need to re-design the multiple impositions to handle multiple web stock sizes. For example, the imposition designer would need to define an imposition and queue for each of several different sizes of web stock. Considering the large number of web stock combinations requires numerous impositions and, therefore, requires extra work for the printer operator to change the imposition whenever there is a change in web stock sizes. The engine may fault the job in cases where the operator has modified the paper size dimensions at the continuous feed printer, and the dimensions no longer match the imposed sheet dimensions when the job goes to print.